Workers from Watts Construction prepare the land between Tuacahn Amphitheatre and the plaza following Wednesday’s groundbreaking for the new Tuacahn Art Center in Ivins City.(Photo: Brian Passey / The Spectrum & Daily News)Buy Photo

In true Tuacahn style, its Wednesday morning groundbreaking ceremony for the new Tuacahn Arts Center featured live music, red rock canyon beauty and, of course, pyrotechnics.

It wasn’t quite as elaborate as the fireworks shows that typically end events at Tuacahn Amphitheatre, but as a line of dignitaries shoveled dirt at the conclusion of the ceremony, they heard a loud popping behind them. Nervously laughing, they turned around to see an explosion of streamers and confetti, covering them and the small audience.

A few minutes later, heavy equipment from Watts Construction started their engines and continued to prepare a massive hole between the amphitheater and plaza for the $9.5 million, 19,000-square foot project that will house Tuacahn’s gift shop, new rehearsal space, additional restrooms, a childcare facility, a possible restaurant and classroom space for the adjoining Tuacahn High School.

An architectural rendering shows the back of the new Tuacahn Art Center, which will face Tuacahn Amphitheater upon completion.(Photo: Submitted image)

“We’ve never had a more beautiful place to work,” said Doug Watts, CEO of Watts Construction, following the ceremony. “We’re thrilled to be partners on it. This is a really great project.”

Watts said the project is expected to completed this summer.

Watts Construction has been behind many notable projects throughout the region, from dozens of local businesses to institutional buildings like the Washington City Community Center and St. George Catholic Church.

Funding for the project is coming from a variety of sources. The bulk of it will be through a $6 million bond, but $2 million will also come from private donations, $1 million from Tuacahn’s reserve and $500,000 from the Utah Office of Tourism.

The $6 million bond was made possible by Washington County’s decision to provide $325,000 annually to Tuacahn — $200,000 of that annual amount will come from the county’s Transient Room Tax for the next 20 years while the additional $125,000 will come from the new Recreation, Arts and Parks Tax for the next 10 years, at least, Tuacahn officials said.

This architectural rendering shows an inside view of the new Tuacahn Art Center, which will house the gift gallery, additional restrooms, rehearsal space and possibly even a restaurant.(Photo: Submitted image)

Tuacahn board member Dave Pugsley noted how quickly Tuacahn was able to begin construction, considering the county only approved the RAP tax allocation in October. That accelerated timeline was possible in part because Pugsley, an architect, donated all of the project’s design work.

“It kind of put us ahead of the game to have that worked out,” he said.

Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony kicked off with a performance of “Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal” by the Tuacahn High School Madrigals. Four speakers then briefly addressed the small audience.

This architectural rendering shows the inside of the new Tuacahn Art Center, which is expected to be complete within about seven months.(Photo: Submitted image)

Sue Cox, of the Tuacahn Board of Directors, said Tuacahn has faced financial ups and downs through the years. But she said the hiring of Scott Anderson as artistic director paved the way for a partnership with Disney Theatrical Group and a succession of successful Disney productions each year.

“We are becoming a world-class theater,” she said.

Tuacahn CEO Kevin Smith said the new facility will benefit those Broadway-style musical performances by adding permanent rehearsal space. For many years now Tuacahn has had to rent off-site rehearsal space because the venue’s own facilities were split between the high school and the professional performing companies.

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The audience reacts to an explosion of confetti and streamers during Wednesday’s groundbreaking for the new Tuacahn Art Center in Ivins City.(Photo: Brian Passey / The Spectrum & Daily News)

Smith also read some lines of the original dedicatory prayer for Tuacahn, which was offered by then-president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the late Gordon B. Hinckley. And Smith noted how instrumental board member and co-founder Hyrum Smith has been to Tuacahn’s growth, having donated a large sum of money to Tuacahn through the years. Kevin Smith said Hyrum Smith once mentioned that he wanted to die broke.

“Thanks to Tuacahn, he has about two months to live,” Kevin Smith joked.

Hyrum Smith also spoke and played down his role in the idea of Tuacahn. He said it was screenwriter and playwright Doug Stewart who first had the vision of Tuacahn. When Stewart discovered Padre Canyon, he knew he had found the place.

Smith said the amphitheater already existed naturally in its current location and they supposedly only had to move 12 inches of dirt to turn it into what is seen today. After a $23 million construction project, the 1,920-seat amphitheater was completed in 1995.

This time around, Tuacahn has the promised help of the county’s allocated funds. Washington County Commissioner Zachary Renstrom acknowledged that some people have expressed concerns about the use of government funding. He defended the decision to dedicate county funds to Tuacahn because it is a “huge economic engine” for the county.

Tuacahn has an estimated $85 million in annual economic impact. Renstrom said, however, that Tuacahn is “much more” than an economic engine.

“It’s something that fills our soul,” he said.

Ivins City Mayor Chris Hart also sang Tuacahn’s praises, calling it a “magical place” and a “community treasure.”

“When we come here, we go away feeling better — feeling better about life and feeling better about the world,” Hart said.

A group of dignitaries applaud and laugh following a surprise burst of pyrotechnics and streamers during Wednesday’s groundbreaking for the new Tuacahn Art Center in Ivins City.(Photo: Brian Passey / The Spectrum & Daily News)